DASH (Alexandria Transit) has announce the start of construction on the very-first on-route electric bus chargers in the City of Alexandria, Northern Virginia, and the Washington DC metropolitan region.
The project, which marks another major milestone in DASH’s transition to a 100% zero-emission fleet, is being funded through a partnership between DASH and the City of Alexandria, with over 1 million USD in federal funding secured through the Fiscal Year 2024 Consolidated Appropriations Act.
To commemorate the occasion; DASH hosted a groundbreaking ceremony at the West End Alexandria redevelopment site (formerly Landmark Mall) on Tuesday 23 June, bringing together elected officials, regional transportation leaders, project partners, and community stakeholders to celebrate.
DASH General Manager & CEO Josh Baker, said:This project reflects years of planning and collaboration to support our transition to an all-electric fleet.
As the first on-route electric bus chargers in Northern Virginia and the DC region, this is a monumental step toward a cleaner, quieter, and more sustainable transit system. I’m incredibly grateful to our partners and especially Congressman Beyer for helping make this possible. We at DASH are excited to see these improvements better our riders’ experiences in day-to-day service.
The two overhead pantograph chargers will be capable of delivering charging speeds of up to 360kW, enabling buses to be recharged in minutes.
DASH and the City of Alexandria adopted a goal to transition to a 100% zero-emission vehicle fleet in 2019, and deployed 16 battery electric buses into service to date, with an additional 20 funded and currently in procurement.
Full construction of the charging infrastructure is now underway, and is expected to be completed by 2027.
